This account is pending registration confirmation. Please click on the link within the confirmation email previously sent you to complete registration.Need a new registration confirmation email? Click here

Equity Residential (EQR): Today's Featured Real Estate Laggard

Equity Residential (
EQR) pushed the Real Estate industry lower today making it today's featured Real Estate laggard. The industry as a whole closed the day down 0.3%. By the end of trading, Equity Residential fell 45 cents (-0.7%) to $64.09 on average volume. Throughout the day, two million shares of Equity Residential exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of two million shares. The stock ranged in price between $63.78-$64.65 after having opened the day at $64.02 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $64.54. Other company's within the Real Estate industry that declined today were:
Marlin Business Services (
MRLN), down 9.2%,
Supertel Hospitality (
SPPR), down 6.3%,
Maui Land & Pineapple Company (
MLP), down 5.5%, and
Bluegreen Corporation (
BXG), down 5.1%.

Equity Residential, a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the acquisition, development, and management of multifamily properties in the United States. Equity Residential has a market cap of $19.53 billion and is part of the
financial sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 216.5, equal to the average real estate industry P/E ratio and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 13.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday. Currently there are four analysts that rate Equity Residential a buy, one analyst rates it a sell, and 12 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Equity Residential as a
hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its impressive record of earnings per share growth, revenue growth and good cash flow from operations. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the company's profit margins have been poor overall.